OLYMPICS: Ice hockey-Too soon to say when captain Poulin will return, says Canada coach

MILAN – Canada’s coach Troy Ryan said Tuesday it was too early to say when the defending champions would have their “irreplaceable” captain Marie-Philip Poulin back, following a stunning 5-0 group-stage defeat to the United States.

Fans at Santagiulia Arena missed their “Captain Clutch,” who sat out after suffering a lower-body injury in Monday’s win over the Czech Republic, as the U.S. handed Canada its first-ever women’s Olympic shutout.

Poulin is unlikely to return for Canada’s final group-stage game against Finland on Thursday, Ryan said, but he remained “optimistic” she would be back during the Olympics.

“She’s irreplaceable,” Ryan told reporters. “I don’t think that’s the reason for tonight’s performance, but you just miss her everywhere. Your power play’s a little less lethal, your penalty kill… and then just having her in the face-off circle, winning those puck possession plays—she’s very valuable.”

In a clash of Canada’s experience versus U.S. youth, the Americans dominated Tuesday, and Ryan said some “soul-searching” would be needed to get their title defense back on track.

“You’ve got to play the game with confidence,” he said. “You can’t be scared to make mistakes, and that’s how it looked at times tonight.”

-Reporting by Amy Tennery in Milan; Editing by Bill Berkrot/Reuters